1. Field of the Invention
THIS INVENTION relates to a carrier tape for fasteners.
The term "fastener" shall include rivets; screws; clips; studs; rivets or slugs for clinching/press joining/integral fastening; stand-off pins; locating pins and other fastening devices.
2. Prior Art
International Application No. PCT/AU92/00621 (=WO 93/09918) (Henrob Ltd et al) discloses a range of carrier tapes for fasteners where the fasteners may be released from the tapes by being pushed axiably through, or transversely to, the webs of the tapes; where the tapes have teeth or holes engageable by drive means in the feeder heads for accurate delivery of the fasteners into alignment with the punches; and where the tapes can be fed around small radius curves to enable fastening of sheets in confined spaces, eg. in automobile assembly operations.
The tapes disclosed in PCT/AU92/00621 have generally proved successful in most fastening applications. However, in some automobile applications, problems have arisen. With very short rivets now being used in automobile applications, the very short plain stem length leaves little stem length for engagement in existing carrier tapes.
In addition, the large radius under the head means the rivet head must be left high in the tape, and the high centre of gravity causes the rivets to tip or fall out.